Caption: Inaugural workshop with professors from participating universities on UNODC modules held in June 2022. © UNODC
Maputo (Mozambique), 29 November 2023 – Education is a powerful vehicle to promote a culture of lawfulness and to develop long-lasting solutions to prevent crime and terrorism and uphold human rights. In 2022, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Helsinki Rule of Law Centre launched an education-focused project that engages university professors from the University Eduardo Mondlane, the University of São Tomás and the Pedagogical University of Maputo, as well as trainers from the national Centre for Legal and Judicial Training (CFJJ).
The project aims to enhance the capacity of lecturers and trainers to educate future generations of professionals on issues related to transnational organized crime, trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, prevention of terrorism and violent extremism, anti-corruption, ethics, integrity, and the rule of law.
In November 2023, UNODC and partner institutions, including the Rule of Law Centre, hosted an open forum in Maputo with the participation of international partners and UN agencies. This event served as a platform to share progress related to the Education for the Rule of Law initiatives, as well as lessons learned, best practices and the way forward.
During the open forum, the first localized module adapted to the Mozambican context was launched, resulting from a collaborative effort between UNODC experts and Professors from the participating universities. The module, focused on integrity, ethics and law, explores these topics through the lens of traditions practiced in Mozambique, such as purification rituals, while also delving into the legal and judicial complexities surrounding customary law in the country.
Since the launch of the project, UNODC has engaged over 40 professors, sharing materials and providing training on UNODC’s University Modules, including support for the adaptation of selected resources to the Mozambican context with the goal of integrating them into the national university curricula. The Rule of Law Centre’s legal clinic has also contributed to the success of these initiatives by providing key legal expertise throughout select trainings.
Leopoldo Muacigarro, Ethics professor and Head of the Ethics and Deontology Department at the University of São Tomás, shared that, as a result of his participation in the project, he now possesses increased knowledge not only in his field but in other areas as well, such as legal frameworks. He believes that the use of UNODC’s teaching materials will bring many benefits to the student community, given their focus on current topics relevant to the Mozambican context.
“My professional life has really changed and improved through this project, so much so that my teaching model has changed,” stated Muacigarro, signalling the usefulness of the methodology and knowledge shared in UNODC’s trainings and workshops. “I feel like a new teacher.”
Recently, professors from both the University of São Tomás and the Pedagogical University of Maputo took the lead in introducing UNODC’s University Modules to their peers, inspiring them to leverage these materials to enhance their own lectures.
“This is sustainability in practice”, says Antonio de Vivo, Head of the UNODC Programme Office in Mozambique, highlighting the remarkable degree of ownership demonstrated by participating professors.
Mozambique, like many nations, has felt the corrosive effects of corruption within its public institutions. As such, the UNODC project also directly engaged and supported Mozambique’s justice sector through extensive capacity-building, seeking to enhance the capacity of trainers from the Centre for Legal and Judicial Training and criminal justice practitioners to deliver their own trainings in the fields of anticorruption, ethics, and integrity. Following one such training, a criminal justice practitioner stated that it had “made us question our actions in our daily work.”
Trainees, among which defense lawyers, legal aid practitioners, prosecutors and judges, deepened their understanding of the core values of ethics and integrity. By analyzing case studies and conducting practical exercises, these training sessions bridged the gap between theory and practice, ensuring that these principles are not mere theoretical concepts but in fact practical tools that can be wielded effectively within the justice sector.
The trainings also sought to empower participants to tailor and integrate the material into their existing curricula based on the unique needs and challenges of the Mozambican justice system. The final training in the programme cycle featured two former Finnish judges, who shared their expertise and experiences.
One prosecutor remarked that the trainings had been “highly engaging and practical,” recommending the use of modules by anyone, regardless of their field of expertise. “We are in a crisis of values. It is thus very important to revive these values.”
The open forum also fostered discussions on how to continue supporting Mozambique's efforts in building a better and fairer society and solid institutions.
A key message echoed by several participants was the need to expand the project to primary and secondary levels, namely by harnessing the plethora of UNODC tools tailored to these grades, which includes lesson plans, educative comic books and interactive games and videos. By integrating topics related to the rule of law in children’s and youth’s educational curricula, students will be better equipped to both understand and react when confronted with corruption, violence and other forms of crime in their lives, and be empowered to become change-makers and justice champions.
In outlining future plans, participating institutions presented strategic steps aimed at building upon the project’s achievements. The Judicial and Legal Training Center proposed implementing additional train-the-trainer sessions based on UNODC modules, covering ethics, integrity, anti-corruption, counterterrorism, and combatting human trafficking, as well as the development of a plan for continuous training initiatives designed specifically for law enforcement officials.
The Pedagogical University of Maputo plans on setting up a programme which would empower third and fourth-year students to disseminate key modules in different settings, such as high schools and neighbouring communities. Meanwhile, Eduardo Mondlane University has crafted a project focused on integrating human rights issues into its courses, which foresees, among other components, the development of guidelines for mainstreaming human rights on campus, to be used by teaching and research staff. Lastly, the University of São Tomás is in the process of launching a Master’s degree program in Law and Security, based on UNODC modules and developed with the support of UNODC’s technical assistance, an unexpected positive outcome of the project.
In a world where the rule of law forms the bedrock of functioning societies, empowering not only judicial but education institutions becomes paramount. UNODC’s educational initiative in Mozambique, made possible by funding from the Rule of Law Centre of the University of Helsinki, stands as an example of how education can serve as a powerful catalyst for a positive change. With the support of its partners, UNODC remains steadfast in its commitment to continue supporting the country in its efforts towards a more just society and transparent institutions, in line with the Maputo Roadmap.